Astronaut James McDivitt, Who Commanded Gemini IV and Apollo 9 Missions, Dead at 93
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James A. McDivitt, a former astronaut who commanded the Gemini IV and Apollo 9 missions, has died. He was 93.
McDivitt died "peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his family and friends" on Thursday in Tucson, Arizona, according to statement from NASA.
As commander of the Gemini IV mission in 1965, the Chicago-born astronaut and fellow Air Force pilot Ed White embarked on NASA's "most ambitious flight to date," according to the agency's release. It also marked McDivitt's first time flying in space.
During the four-day spaceflight, the pair circled the globe 66 times — and White became the first American to venture outside of his spacecraft in a spacewalk, which McDivitt captured on camera, according to NBC News.
Before becoming an astronaut, McDivitt joined the Air Force in 1951 at age 20, and went on to fly in over a hundred combat missions during the Korean War, per NASA.
The former astronaut graduated first in his class from the University of Michigan with a bachelor's degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1959, according to the space agency. In 1962 he was selected to become a part of NASA's second astronaut class. Other members of that class included Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, according to NBC News.
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As commander of the Apollo 9 mission in March 1969, McDivitt played a "critical role in landing the first humans on the Moon," per NASA's release. (Armstrong set foot on the moon months later, on July 20, 1969.)
All in all, McDivitt logged more than 14 days in space and after the Apollo 9 mission, he went on to manage lunar landing operations, according to NASA. He also led the group that redesigned the spacecraft for the lunar exploration program, and, in 1969, became the manager of the Apollo Spacecraft Program.
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McDivitt retired from NASA and the Air Force in 1972, according to NASA. He went on to take positions at several private companies, including Consumers Power Company, railroad manufacturer Pullman, Inc. and Rockwell International.
